4 ms·
A subtlety bears mentioning: History favors both centralized and distributed power, at different times, in different places, in quasi-cyclical fashion. Example
by rdiddly 8y ago
A subtlety bears mentioning: History favors both centralized and distributed power, at different times, in different places, in quasi-cyclical fashion. Examples of history thwarting centralization include the collapses of: the Roman Empire, the USA in the 1860s, the 3rd Reich, Yugoslavia, the whole Warsaw Pact, and the USSR. Some of these were later "re-centralized" and some weren't. When things get too decentralized, centralization kicks in. When things get too centralized, decentralization kicks in. It's a balance.
- AndrewKemendo 8y agoI read the fourth turning some years ago and it repeats effectively the same argument. Previously the histories from Polybius. From my study of it, it's closer to a ratchet. So while dissolution might happen at the highest organizational level, the hierarchies trend toward growing over successive cycles.
- majewsky 8y agoAlso, the number of sovereign nations is just one measure of centralization of power. Economic structures are now more centralized than ever (with, in many cases, a handful multinational megacorps controlling most of each sector).